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A Sinful History Of Forbidden Food
Ballantine Books
March 2003
On Sale: March 4, 2003
352 pages
ISBN: 0345440161
EAN: 9780345440167
Paperback
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Non-Fiction
Deliciously organized by the Seven Deadly Sins, here is a scintillating history of forbidden foods through the agesβand how these mouth-watering taboos have defined cultures around the world.
From the lusciously tempting fruit in the Garden of Eden to the divine foie gras, Stewart Lee Allen engagingly illustrates that when a pleasure as primal as eating is criminalized, there is often an astonishing tale to tell. Among the foods thought to encourage Lust, the love apple (now known as the tomato) was thought to possess demonic spirits until the nineteenth century. The Gluttony βcourseβ invites the reader to an ancient Roman dinner party where nearly every dish servedβfrom poppy-crusted rodents to βTrojan Porkββwas considered a crime against the state. While the vice known as Sloth introduces the sad story of βThe Lazy Rootβ (the potato), whose popularity in Ireland led British moralists to claim that the Great Famine was Godβs way of punishing the Irish for eating a food that bred degeneracy and idleness.
Filled with incredible food history and the authorβs travels to many of these exotic locales, In the Devilβs Garden also features recipes like the matzo-ball stews outlawed by the Spanish Inquisition and the forbidden βchocolate champagnesβ of the Aztecs. This is truly a delectable book that will be consumed by food lovers, culinary historians, amateur anthropologists, and armchair travelers alike. Bon appΓ©tit!
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